Fact or Fiction: Recycled Mattresses

Today, you can't do anything without being bombarded with information about sustainability and recycling. In a world that is so concerned about going green, it's interesting to find out not every item that can be recycled is being recycled, and that not every item is even accepted at recycling or donation centers. Mattress are just one example of the complexities of going green. Take our quiz to see if you would know how to dispose of an old mattress in an eco-friendly way.

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Question 1 of 20

Mattresses and box springs make up 5 perfect of the waste in our landfills.

fact

Mattresses and box springs are very bulky, and they take up about 5 percent of space in a landfill. Compound that by the fact that users often throw them away every 10 or 15 years or so and you can see the problem.

fiction

Question 2 of 20

For every 1,000 mattresses that are recycled, 30 trees are saved.

fact

fiction

Actually for every 100 mattresses that are recycled, 30 trees are saved.

Question 3 of 20

Recycling your mattress saves water, oil and trees.

fact

Recycling your mattress is a no brainer when you understand how many resources you can save and those do include water, oil and trees.

fiction

Question 4 of 20

Mattresses are 100 percent recyclable.

fact

fiction

The materials in mattresses are anywhere from 85 to 95 percent recyclable depending on the recycling center technology and the type of mattress.

Question 5 of 20

Any recycling facility will take your old mattress.

fact

fiction

Most recycling facilities don't have the technology to recycle mattresses. You have to take them to a special recycling center that has the equipment to handle recycling them.

Question 6 of 20

It takes 10 years for a mattress to break down in a landfill.

fact

fiction

It actually takes a standard mattress nearly 20 years to break down in a landfill.

Question 7 of 20

Every year in the United States, an estimated 20 million mattresses end up in landfills.

fact

Mattress recycling centers are popping up across the country to help reduce the nearly 20 million mattresses that end up in landfills each year.

fiction

Question 8 of 20

If you find a recycling center that takes mattresses, it will come pick up your mattress free of charge.

fact

fiction

Most mattress recycling centers won't pick up your mattress. In fact, most centers often charge fees for recycling mattresses.

Question 9 of 20

You can donate your mattress to the Goodwill under any circumstances.

fact

fiction

Your local chapter of Goodwill sets its own regulations on whether or not it can accept mattresses. If it does accept them, it often has rules about having them cleaned before they can be accepted.

Question 10 of 20

Every material that makes up a mattress can be recycled.

fact

fiction

Anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of a mattress cannot be recycled.

Question 11 of 20

Mattresses can created hazardous situations in landfills.

fact

Mattresses can create flammable pockets of air in landfills, which can be extremely dangerous to workers.

fiction

Question 12 of 20

The amount of space 100 recycled mattresses would save in a landfill is equal to the size of a football field.

fact

fiction

If 10,000 people recycled their mattresses each year, an entire football field worth of trash would be eliminated from the landfill.

Question 13 of 20

Mattresses aren't designed to come apart easily, making recycling them difficult.

fact

The reason most recycling centers cannot recycle mattresses is because they are designed in a way that makes them very difficult to disassemble.

fiction

Question 14 of 20

Used mattresses can contain bacteria, dust mites, viruses, spores or even bed bugs.

fact

Mattresses are sometimes difficult to donate to the Goodwill or Salvation Army because they can be contaminated with things like bacteria, dust mites and even bed bugs.

fiction

Question 15 of 20

A mattress recycling center can only recycle 10 mattresses per hour.

fact

fiction

A recycling center can recycle one mattress in just four minutes.

Question 16 of 20

A mattress's coils can be melted down and sold to steel companies.

fact

The cost of recycling mattresses could soon come down, since melting down the steel coils and selling the end product is becoming more lucrative.

fiction

Question 17 of 20

Any retailer can reuse the fabric of a mattress.

fact

fiction

It is against health code for any mattress company to sell a mattress with fabric from a used mattress. So beware of mattresses that are extremely cheap or ones that are sold as "refurbished."

Question 18 of 20

You can recycle a mattress by recovering it and selling it as new.

fact

fiction

It is not legal for a retailer to sell an old mattress with a new cover.

Question 19 of 20

Mattress foam and stuffing can be recycled and used for carpet padding.

fact

A very popular use of recycled mattress stuffing is to make carpet padding.